


Sleep with me

by Seaberry Siren (Lettrefeerie)



Series: Another 358 Days [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Diary/Journal, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, Sleep Deprivation, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29926578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lettrefeerie/pseuds/Seaberry%20Siren
Summary: Roxas' notebooks lead to some new discoveries.
Relationships: Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Another 358 Days [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197482
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Sleep with me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone :) It's been a while.
> 
> So yeah, I'm back with... What's actually a series now? XD  
> This takes place in the same timeline as Until the End and I want to explore the idea of how Roxas and Xion (plus, by extension, Naminé, Axel and Isa) spend the year after KH3 a bit further, but I don't have a consistent plot in mind... So I just decided to make an irregularly updating series of loosely connected shortstories out of it.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story :)

The noise of several items cluttering onto the floor woke Xion up that day… Or night.

Twilight Town never truly slept. It came with the lighting conditions never really changing. There was indeed a pattern, but it never really got brighter or darker – the world was literally always bathed in twilight, hence its name.

Therefore, everyone pretty much organized their lives around their working times. For Xion, Roxas, Naminé and their friends that mainly meant school. For Axel and Isa, as well as most other people in Twilight Town, it meant their jobs and the times for those were pretty much scattered all around the clock. The shops and restaurants never closed because there were always customers and people to run them, which was probably one of the reasons why Scrooge McDuck had decided to open _Le Grand Bistro_ in this world.

She sat up with a sigh and pushed her sleeping mask off of her eyes, rubbing them.

One advantage of the eternal twilight was that one was never blinded by the sunlight after waking up. The slight disadvantage was that due to the sun never setting, it was hard to sleep without wearing a sleeping mask. Xion’s room still didn’t have curtains – it had been far more interesting to buy a laptop. Besides, she didn’t mind the sleeping mask; she actually liked it. It was nice to slip it off when waking up and immediately be greeted by her room.

 _Her_ room. A space where she could do whatever she wanted, as long as she had the means and didn’t set anything on fire. It still felt weird to think about it sometimes. Her brain still refused to recognize it as normal – to Xion, this was something special.

The lilac walls, the ebony furniture, the desk with the small shelf attached to it (where she also kept her seashell collection), the framed painting of some underwater landscape Naminé had made for her when she had started using watercolor pencils… And the newest addition, her laptop. She had been saving up for that for three months, and when she finally had enough munny, Axel and Isa had given her a bit of additional cash to buy a mouse and headphones with.

She glanced to the clock on her nightstand – the time it displayed told her that it was still sleeping time, at least for her.

Xion nodded to herself. She could really use that extra sleep, even though she didn’t have to go to school the next day… Or night. The citizens of Twilight Town called it clock cycle, but that always felt so strange to Xion, even though this world felt like home to her in every other aspect.

So she pulled her sleeping mask over her eyes again, laid back down…

… and wondered where the strange noise that had woken her up in the first place had come from. It definitely hadn’t been any of her stuff, so it must have been one of the neighbouring rooms. Was one of them awake and had accidentally knocked something over? Or had this just happened by coincidence?

… Was someone else in the apartment?

She sat up with a sigh, pushed her sleeping mask onto her forehead once again, swung her feet out of the bed, slipped into her fluffy plush-slippers and stood up. Now she wanted to know who or what had caused this, and she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep again until she found out.

Xion wasn’t afraid of burglars – she had fought much worse than those in her short life already, so she was pretty sure she could handle one. If it even was a burglar.

She checked Naminé’s room first since it was located between Roxas’ and hers.

Naminé’s room had light blue walls with some framed photographs on them. The color of the flooring reminded Xion of sand a bit.

Unlike everyone else’s rooms, Naminé’s already had curtains. Unlike Xion, she didn’t really like sleeping masks, so the thick, white curtains with the light grey and blue flower patterns had been one of the first additions to her room.

Her furniture was mostly bought second-hand or hand-me-downs from friends and their families. While Roxas and Xion both wanted something that was completely their own, Naminé enjoyed stuff that had belonged to someone else before. Almost every time someone had something they wanted to give away, she wanted to take a look at it first, saying that she couldn’t just let the things end up in the trash. She said she could see the memories on it, and she enjoyed giving those pieces a new home and new memories. Because of that, her furniture was a colorful mix of many different styles – and yet, it didn’t look sloppy or messy in the slightest.

Naminé herself was sleeping peacefully in her bed though, and as far as Xion could see, nothing had tumbled onto the floor in her room. It didn’t really surprise her – Naminé kept everything nice and tidied up.

Not wanting to disturb Naminé’s sleep, Xion closed the door quietly and went on to the next room – Roxas’ room. She already noticed some quiet noises coming from there before she opened the door. Was he still up?

She knocked, quietly in order to not wake him up if she was wrong. A quiet hum told her everything she needed to know.

Xion opened the door and stepped into Roxas’ room.

It was about the same size as Naminé’s and hers – but so much unlike theirs when it came to the things in it.

While all of Roxas’ furniture was new like Xion’s, he didn’t keep many personal things in his room. He said that he wanted to get all of the basics first before buying decorations. Some pieces of his furniture, mainly some of the shelves, were handmade by him and some of their friends during his spare time. They weren’t perfect, but they had their very own charm to them.

Most of it was bought however. That included his bed, which was slightly wider than Xion’s or Naminé’s because Roxas tossed and turned so much in his sleep that he needed the extra space. It sat right under the window – Roxas said that he loved feeling the rays of the sun on his face while falling asleep and waking up again. Riku had mentioned once that Sora used to fall asleep under the sun on the beach a lot when he was younger, so erhaps that was something Roxas got from him.

Another piece was his desk, which was very similar to Xion’s, but the wood wasn’t painted, leaving it in its bare, natural color. And in front of said desk sat Roxas, in his pajamas, apparently reading through some of his old diaries.

Even after the Organization was no more he had kept this habit of journaling every day, although it was more of a notebook nowadays. He wrote practically everything down in those: the notes he took in school, various lists, memories they collected together… Because of this habit, his notebooks would usually fill up quite quickly and he frequently had to buy new ones. The used ones were stored in the shelf attached to his desk, alongside Roxas’ admittedly impressive stationery collection that he had built over the past few months. For some reason, whenever he got a gift from someone, it was always stationery and over time, he had started to build a collection.

Xion quietly closed the door behind her as she entered the room. She didn’t want to disturb him. “Shouldn’t you be in bed, Roxas?”, she asked quietly.

He turned around and a small, tired smile spread on his face as he recognized her. “Shouldn’t you?”, he responded somewhat cheekily with a grin on his face, but it couldn’t distract her from how tired he looked.

“I woke up because there was a noise,” Xion said as she walked over to him.

“Yeah, sorry… Accidentally knocked a few of my notebooks off my desk earlier,” Roxas muttered as he closed the journal he was currently holding and sat it to the side. So that was where the noise had been coming from. Xion smiled in relief.

Roxas didn’t have a spare chair to sit on, but he moved to the side on his chair a little bit, so that he was only half-sitting on it, and patted the now free space at his side. Xion gladly accepted his offer, even though she admittedly found it weird to only sit on a chair with one cheek of her butt… The warmth radiating from Roxas’ body more than made up for that though. She liked being so close to him.

“What are you doing?”

Roxas motioned to his old notebooks and let out a little sigh. “Reading through my old diaries. Thought that maybe I’d find something in them that could help us.”

He rested his elbows on the desk and started rubbing his eyes. “Like… A teeny-tiny little detail…”, he continued. Sheesh, he sounded so incredibly frustrated… “Something that I’ve missed previously. Anything. I don’t know.”

Xion gently placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down a little bit. He had goosebumps. “Aren’t you cold?”

“A little,” Roxas admitted. “It’s not too bad though. Helps me stay awake.”

She didn’t want to ask him if he’d found any results yet – it was obvious that he hadn’t. Why else would he be so frustrated and desperate to stay awake?

They had been looking for Sora for months and months on end now, and still no sign of him, not a single clue of his whereabouts. Xion had to admit that she too was running out of ideas – and memories – at this point. Naminé had gone through all of them with her, multiple times. Regardless of that, she refused to give up, as did Roxas. There had to be something – some clue to their friend’s whereabouts. They just hadn’t found it yet… But they would eventually.

Thinking about it, going through his old diaries was actually something they hadn’t tried yet, and it seemed like a good idea to Xion. Naminé had once explained that memories were a very subjective thing in general – what actually transpired didn’t matter as much as the person remembering the event. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, they could also change or fade over time.

At first, Xion hadn’t really understood what she meant – until Axel and Isa had gotten in an argument over some groceries they had bought previously. Isa had last seen them outside of the house, so he assumed that Axel had misplaced them, while the latter couldn’t remember that he was supposed to carry them inside. In the end, it turned out that Roxas had already stored them and both of them had jumped to the wrong conclusions.

If Naminé was right about the fading of memories as well – and why wouldn’t she be, she was an expert on this field after all – then they would probably discover some things they had forgotten.

But there was a right time and place for this… And Xion could clearly see that it wasn’t now.

She rubbed Roxas’ shoulder a bit. “You’re so tense,” she remarked quietly. “Roxas, how long have you been doing this?”

“For some hours, I think. Haven’t kept an eye on the clock,” he admitted. “Took a short break to get myself some coffee though.”

Now that he mentioned it, she noticed a mug on the table, one of the big ones that kept hot drinks warm longer. She raised an eyebrow. “Did you drink all of that?”

“There is still some of it left…”

“Roxas, you need actual sleep, not caffeine!”

“I know,” he mumbled. “Honestly, I didn’t think it would take that long… And when it did, I just… Didn’t want to stop…”

He sighed heavily as he buried his face in his hands and started rubbing it again. “It’s just… Xion, this has been going on for months now. I just want it to be over… I just want all of this to be over…”

“I know.” She wanted that as well. Their new life wasn’t as enjoyable as it could be, seeing as Sora was still lost. Xion was glad to offer her help when it came to their search for him, but it was incredibly exhausting.

While she was pretty sure that they wouldn’t fade away again at this point – a bit of the fear that they would still remained within her heart. It would probably remain as long as Sora was still missing, maybe even beyond. But even if she wasn’t scared for Roxas or herself, she knew she would still worry about Sora.

Plus, she somewhat… Missed him.

Even though her heart had resided in his for some months, she had never gotten to know him. Xion had been exited to finally meet him for real, not just because he was the person she owed her second chance at life to. She was sure Roxas did as well, probably even more than she did. Sora was his Other after all.

At least he relaxed a little under her touch, and she started to rub his back in bigger circles. He sighed quietly in response to that.

“How about this,” Xion suggested, “you go to sleep now and I’ll help you to go over your old diaries tomorrow?”

She smiled, even though Roxas couldn’t see that. “Two pairs of eyes see more than one… And we’ll be much faster if we’re both well-rested. What do you say?”

“Sounds good to me.” Roxas responded. He yawned directly after. “That is, if I can actually sleep by now…”

“Are you okay?”

He sighed. “Not entirely… That’s why I couldn’t sleep.”

Oh. She had a suspicion where this was going again… “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I just couldn’t shake the thought of losing you again,” Roxas murmured. “Thought that since I can’t sleep anyways I might as well do something useful.”

“Well, I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

Xion knew that this would likely not help his fears. Just like she was afraid of fading away, a fear that surfaced from time to time, she knew that Roxas was afraid of losing her again. Much like her own fear, there were times when it was worse and times when the feeling almost seemed like it wasn’t there anymore. Emotions could be strange like that sometimes, and if Xion had learned anything about them in the past months, it was definitely this.

She would probably would have done the same thing as Roxas if she were in his situation. After all, time was perhaps playing against them… Maybe. She didn’t really know right now. It didn’t feel like it, but who knew if that was actually true… Emotions, thoughts, memories. They all could be deceptive. At the end, no one really knew for sure what the future had in store. Even though nothing had happened to either of them, no flickering or something similar, which was probably a good sign… The present was all they truly had. And in the present, Roxas needed her.

“Is there anything I could do to help you sleep?”

Roxas finally looked at her again. His eyes appeared so tiny because of how red and puffy they were from rubbing, in addition to the very noticeable dark circles underneath them. He looked so very tired…

“I…” He hesitated for a second. “I think it might help if you… Can you sleep with me tonight?”

Sleep… With Roxas?

“I mean, only if you want to!”, he added really quickly.

Xion’s cheeks got warmer thinking about it. They had hung out on Roxas’ bed together in the past, play-testing that Munnypoly boardgame Scrooge McDuck had come up with or watching movies on Xion’s new laptop. Heck they had even done so in pajamas, but she had never stayed overnight.

The thought of sharing a bed, being so close to each other in the vulnerable state that was sleep… It excited her, but not in an unpleasant way at all. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering and a smile grew across her face. It would be similar to the slumbering party they had had on Olette’s birthday – just with the tiny difference that they would share Roxas’ bed instead of sleeping on air mattresses.

So she nodded, and when she did, a tired smile spread across Roxas’ face as well. “Thank you…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Xion responded. They were best friends after all. She would do everything in her power if it meant that Roxas felt a bit better, and she knew that he would do anything for her as well.

She patted his shoulder and stood up. “I’ll go get my sheets, okay?”

Roxas nodded in response. “I’ll go brush my teeth.”

* * *

When she returned with her pillow and blanket in tow, Roxas had already cleared the left side of the bed for her, and left in order to brush his teeth. Xion could hear the water running in the bathroom as she crossed the hallway once again. His own black and white bedding messily sat on the right side of the bed.

Xion dropped her purple one next to it and sat down. The mattress felt a little different than her own…

She somewhat wondered if she should go look for him. He had looked so tired… What if he fell asleep in the bathroom?

On the other hand, she knew that Roxas was very much able to take care of himself, even though he sometimes pushed himself too far. Plus, she could still go and check up on him in case he didn’t return within the next ten minutes or so. She knew that didn’t have to worry about him – but somehow, that didn’t stop her from doing it. Was that just how worrying about someone worked? She should ask her friends about that sometime.

… Roxas always worried about her too.

In an attempt to distract herself, Xion fluffed up her pillow and wrapped her blanket around her shoulders – she was getting a little cold by now. Maybe she should lay down already… But what if she fell asleep and thus failed to check up on Roxas if he didn’t return?

The door creaked.

A little sigh of relief escaped her when Roxas stepped into his room again and closed the door quietly to not wake anyone up.

He yawned and Xion found herself smiling a little at that. Roxas still had a heavy burden to carry – all of them did – and he didn’t want to make anyone else carry his load. He tried to be as strong as he could. It was his way of dealing with the situation, Xion guessed maybe also his way of trying to be selfless for once. Naminé was still insecure around others, Axel and Isa worked so hard in order to provide for this found family and Xion herself… She was still afraid of fading again, and even more of losing Roxas.

Xion couldn’t deny that she admired him for trying to not bother anybody with his own burden. She was also grateful that he tried to be strong for the others, and for her, too. But sometimes, that made her worry about him even more. She didn’t want him to break under the pressure he put onto himself. Therefore it was nice to see him drop some of the weight from time to time.

Also, she was not going to lie, that yawn _was_ actually kinda cute… She was sure that she had seen him yawn before, but she had never noticed…

“You good, Xixi?”

She nodded and lightly patted the space at her side. “C’mere, Rox.”

That made him chuckle a bit. “I don’t think I need an invitation to my own bed,” he countered while turning off the lamp on his desk. It sounded like he was making a half-hearted joke, but that was likely just because he was really tired. Good to know he could make jokes again – that likely meant that his fear had subsided a bit, hopefully enough so that he could have a peaceful sleep.

He crawled into bed next to her shortly after.

Xion settled down as well. It took her some time – Roxas’ bed was a bit different from her own. Aside from the mattress, which was a bit sturdier, everything should have been similar. They used the same laundry detergent, but his bed smelled so different from hers…

An elbow lightly jabbed her and she let out a tiny squeak in surprise.

“Sorry,” Roxas murmured. He was apparently still trying to find a comfortable sleeping position as well.

She turned around so she was facing him and spotted a tiny blush on his cheeks. “Nevermind,” she shrugged.

A smile of relief spread on Roxas’ lips. “It’s just a bit strange, not having the bed all for myself,” he admitted.

“Well, I can leave again, if you’d rather…”

“No, no, I like having you here!”, he interrupted her before she could finish her offer. “I’m just not used to having less space, that’s all.”

Xion smiled. “Well, it might be time to get used to it then.”

That made Roxas laugh a little. “I suppose.”

It wasn’t the first time that Xion looked into Roxas’ deep blue eyes, but when she did it this time, time seemed to stop for a few heartbeats. It was almost as if the sun of Twilight Town, never truly setting, finally rose and lightened up the room – no, the entire world around them.

Xion was so captivated by the moment that she didn’t even notice the strands of black hair falling into her face. She only did when Roxas’ hand reached for her forehead. He carefully tucked them behind her ear, still smiling when he did that. The metaphorical butterflies that had been living in her stomach for quite some time now seemed to notice it too, because they started fluttering to the point where it became almost unbearable. She almost needed to stop herself from giggling.

The moment ended when Roxas had to yawn once again and she was reminded how tired he had been. “I guess we should get some sleep…”

“Yes…”

He pulled his sleeping mask over his eyes and turned on his back.

Xion hesitated to do the same. Something deep inside her felt like she should stay awake for a little bit longer, at least until he had fallen asleep. It was the very same part that had worried about him earlier, but now it was even more unnecessary than before. Almost as if it wanted to watch over him – to _protect_ him while he was in a vulnerable state like this…

“Hey Xion?”

“Huh?”

“Thank you… For staying with me, I mean.”

Another smile spread across her face. “Of course.” He was her best friend after all – Xion would do anything in her power to make him feel better, and she knew the same held true for him.

It didn’t take long until Roxas’ breathing evened out and Xion knew he had fallen asleep. She carefully brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. He really deserved a good, quiet amount of sleep, after all the work he had done.

A quiet sigh escaped Roxas’ lips. Was he aware of her presence, even while he was asleep?

Xion was still smiling when she laid back down, pulled her own sleeping mask over her eyes and rested her head on her pillow. A warm feeling swelled inside her heart, like it was jumping and celebrating. This was something entirely different from the excitement she’d felt earlier. She was happy that she had been able to help him and even happier that he was finally able to sleep.

“Sleep well, Roxas.”

**Author's Note:**

> Roxas’ fear of losing Xion is something I also want to explore a bit more in the future of this series, but it didn’t feel right here to be honest.  
> I also have ideas for a Part 2 of this, however, I don’t know when that's going to happen. I have a tendency to start new projects all the time and never really finish my ongoing ones, so I'd like to finish some of the stuff I've already started before starting something entirely new again.
> 
> So until then, take care :)


End file.
